Get to the point and move on

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    One of my must-reads each week is a newsletter from the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit journalism school in St. Petersburg, Fla. — a great place to be this time of year. Unfortunately, I’m here in the frozen north, waiting for the start of the Red Sox season.

    Anyhow, a recent column by veteran Poynter instructor Roy Peter Clark immediately caught my eye.
    Three big lies that public speakers tell:
    “You can interrupt me at any time.”
    “I want this to be a conversation.”
    “There will be plenty of time at the end for questions.”
    I’m storing this in my memory bank for next month when I’m scheduled to teach a class at the annual Maine Elks Association Educational Seminar.
    While socializing one afternoon with some state officers, I remarked how bland some of the lodge newsletters were and how they could be improved.
    So they asked me if I’d give a class on creating an effective bulletin. After a few moments, I reluctantly said “yes.”
    First, the presentation would be no more than 25 minutes. Perfect. That’s long enough to keep people from falling asleep and short enough so they wouldn’t need to go to the rest room halfway through.
    Secondly, I’ve heard so many bad presentations at other venues that I probably couldn’t do any worse.
    Clark pointed out that after a speaker assures their audience with the three big lies, “What follows typically is 30 or 60 or 90 minutes of nonstop bloviating, leavened only by predictable PowerPoint slides, usually dense with text that encourage even more talking.”
    I’ve conducted mini-journalism classes for junior high school students, senior citizens and nonprofit clubs, fraternal orders and veterans’ organizations. And I’ve had fun doing it. I don’t think I’ve bloviated too often.
    I don’t focus on the nuts and bolts of grammar, but on conveying the message effectively. “Want a good proofreader? Give a copy of your article to your best friend or your spouse,” I would say. “They’ll give you an honest opinion.”
    I don’t mind interruptions, either, as long as the questions pertain to the subject at hand. But I don’t start the class with an invitation to do it.
    My PowerPoint skills are limited. I can create a show, but haven’t figured out how to do the eye-catching tricks yet.
    But I think the biggest problem with presenters is that they don’t know when to quit or at least bow out gracefully. I’ve sat — and dozed — through 40-minute speeches that had 20 minutes worth of usable material.
    Speakers danced around a point for 10 minutes before explaining it. To show their “intelligence,” they used words that prompt me to call up a thesaurus program on my tablet.
    As the eyelids dropped, my inner self was yelling “Get to the point and move on!”
    Not everyone is cut out to be a public speaker. But if you’re tapped for the duty, I suggest you remember Clark’s three lies.
    Whether you’re giving a speech, teaching a class or just serving as a master of ceremonies at a benefit dinner, take your audience into consideration.
    Be yourself.
    Use short sentences with bullet points, not lengthy prose.
    Pause once in a while for effect.
    Above all, don’t send them away asking “What was that all about?”
    Mike Lange is a staff writer with the Piscataquis Observer. His opinions are his own and don’t necessarily reflect those of this newspaper.